Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Clone Defects - Scissors Chop




Clone Defects Scissors Chop 7" (Tom Perkins, 1999)

A year or so ago, a smart ass at Terminal Boredom named Eric Lastname coined the phrase "weird punk" to describe everything from the Piranhas last work to what is currently going on in France. The weird in weird punk is what I like to think of as the number 5, in that weird punk bands know how to count past 1, 2, 3, 4.

We can debate who the first weird punk band was and I think 9 out of 10 people who care (very, very few) would give the honor to the Electric Eels and why not? The E. Eels pretty much sum up everything that is weird punk about weird punk: Aggressive, abrasive, creative, and not overly concerned with musicality. Since the Electric Eels, weird punk has been found in No Wave, in late 70s San Francisco, early 80s San Pedro, Chicago Now Wave, and now sprinkled around the United States and definitely in France.

So why rant about weird punk in a post about the Clone Defects? Well, if you are gonna peg the now surge of weird punk to one record, Scissors Chop is a good choice (you could also pick Crash Normal's EP on Royal). When I first heard Scissors Chop, I flipped. "How come there isn't more shit like this?" I asked myself. The answer to my question came fast. Though the Clone Defects weren't to get any more "weirder" (perhaps Timmy Vulgar saved the weird for Human Eye), it seemed like post-Scissors Chop, lots of strange, challenging, and very listenable punk bands appeared. I wouldn't say that the Clone Defects are responsible, but, rather, that they tapped into a vibe that was just starting to grow loud.

Scissors Chop is a great record. -- Scott S.


Comments:
Jeremy Thompson coined that smart-ass phrase, not me. I merely gave it wings.

Eric
 
Hey, I thought I came up with that phrase a year ago when I posted the on-line comp "WeirdPunk L.A."! Which is back up by the way.

I'm finally influencing the culture!
 
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